Time for a roundup of some of the most popular and widespread iPad 2 related rumors doing the rounds.

#1 - Smaller, thinner iPad

Everything that Apple makes gets smaller and thinner, so this a no-brainer!

#2 - Front/rear camera

Given that the current iPad has a space in the design for a camera, and given that Apple released FaceTime video tool for the iPhone and the Mac, the next iPad is almost certain to have a forward-facing camera. What about a rear-facing camera? Dunno, not sure how anyone would be able to sensibly use one.

#3 - 7-inch iPad

Doubtful, especially given that Steve Jobs himself bad mouthed the 7-inch market. It's hard to see how Apple could price them competitively enough given that a full-sized iPad start out at $500.

#4 - High-resolution 2048×1536 panel

A retina-display style panel on the iPad would fall into line with the iPhone, but the 2048×1536 number being thrown around at present is awfully high resolution - even 1080p HD video would either be windowed or need upscaling. It also takes a lot of processor power and a big battery drive such a large screen. A screen like this is also unlikely to be cheap.

This resolution would however allow existing iPad apps to be upscaled x2 in the same way that iPhone apps are upscaled on the iPad.

Why not? The iPad could do with more power, especially if it's going to have that high-resolution screen.

#7 - More storage

Absolutely. Next ...

#8 - SD Card slot

I keep hearing rumors that the iPad will have an SD Card slot. Also, the mockups and case designs that are turning up have SD Card slots in them.

So, would Apple put an SD Card slot in the iPad?

I don't think so, and here's why. Apple will sell you a 16GB iPad for $500. If you want 32GB that'll cost you an extra $100. A 64GB version will add another $100 to the price. But what if that 16GB iPad had an SD Card slot in it? Well, then I could bump up the storage by 64GB (taking it to 80GB in total) for as around $50 by buying an SD Card.

Apple might be disruptive, but it's not disruptive to its own pricing structure.